Monday, March 31, 2008

Chinese dude wears a pair of Hammer pants (gosh, I haven't seen those in a long time) and dances the entire MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" song while his granny is busy sewing him, probably another pair of Hammer pants. Look grandma, I can dance! Gran?

I give this lady the "Wife cum Mother Of The year Award" for making these ultra cool Optimus Prime and Bumblebee Transformers costumes for her husband and son. She used a variety of colourful fabric (polyester ponte, stretchy metallic and headliner foam) to create the soft sculpture like costumes. The Bumblebee one is just truly awesome!

Choose a slogan, your t-shirt style, colour, etc and then upload your resume for your very own Resume T-Shirt. Perfect for those who want to stand out from the rest of the crowd when job seeking. I thought instead of wearing it, just mail it to your prospective employers. Who reads paper resumes anyway nowadays aye. I'm sure you'll score some good marks on the creativity side.

Lolcats are not the only famous cats online. These flying cats are the latest rage on Flickr. They are so popular that they have a book out and they even made it to Snopes as an urban legend! Check out their Japanese blog here.

Interesting story about how game designers started the trend of putting bouncing boobies in their games. Boob physics, they call it. From Club Skill:

In the original Dead or Alive it was all a bit crazy. Small movement in the characters resulted in their breasts going all over the place in a 'moon gravity' type of motion. It was and is funny to look at, but at the time, it was the best thing out there. In Dead or Alive 2, or Ultimate for Xbox owners, Team Ninja took the time to make the physics a lot more realistic and slightly toned down. There was an easter egg in the game that manipulated the physics and was controlled with how old the player was, and the same easter egg still works with most Team Ninja games. Dead or Alive 3 improved on 2, but Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball was probably the most sexually oriented title in the series resulting in a boob-fest. Again, Dead or Alive 4 improved slightly but the upcoming Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 seems to do breast physics justice. Unlike most games that have breast physics applied to both breasts at the same time, DoAX2 actually gives each breast its own set of physics resulting in a more natural, and crazy, look.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Here's a video I just took of me playing with the CUBOCC Girl which has got to be one of the creepiest thing on the internet. Doesn't she get giddy? Ha! Btw, that's David Cook's Billie Jean playing on the background.

Don't forget to switch off your lights for an hour tonight starting from 8pm. You will join millions of people from cities across the world in supporting the Earth Hour 2008 campaign by World Wildlife Fund. This will send a powerful global message that collectively, we can take action on global warming.

Just look at what people in Sydney accomplished on 31 March last year. 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned off their lights for one hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour!

With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off, and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining Earth Hour in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

Earth Hour in Singapore is organised by the Environmental Challenge Organisation and it aims to reach out to individuals, schools and corporates, spreading the word of Earth Hour to all. Currently, there are about 7 grassroots activities to support Earth Hour in Singapore, ranging from stargazing to movie screening. Check out their blog to find out more and take part in the activities that will take place tonight.

Photos of UFO drones have been appearing on various websites and are causing a controversy. They were leaked online by an anonymous source claiming to be involved in a secretive work on extraterrestrial projects. It seems that those "aliens" have definitely upped their UFO designing skills. No more boring flying saucer nowadays. For the UFO drone pictures and information, click here and here.

Dude uses some fancy welding and software skills to build himself a flight simulator that runs the Battlestar Galactica game on a souped-up Dell gaming PC. And I thought only Star Wars and Star Trek fans are crazy.

io9 posted pictures of some of the forgotten scifi pinball machines of yesteryear such as Laser Ball, Vector and Strange Science (left), a truly bizarre pinball game that featured a mad scientist trying to swap a monkey's brain with that of a hot girl's. Love all the artwork on these machines!

According to xfiles.com, the newly launched website for the upcoming X-files motion picture, the Singapore release date is 31st July 2008 - 6 days after the film's premiere in the US. Darn! Oh well, I guess I can wait. Click here to watch the rocking new trailer for X-files 2.

Friday, March 28, 2008

1. Marriage resource centre to be set up as divorces rise 2. Dream playground now a reality here 3. NTU economists say S'poreans will see fewer jobs created this year 4. Victoria's future up in the air as other schools make their move 5. Many adults refusing HIV test at Singapore hospital 6. More bus stops to carry real-time arrival info panels 7. More HFMD cases reported this year 8. $20k grant for singles who live with parents 9. AVA stops sale of mozzarella from Italy 10. NEA confirms it was raining hailstones in Singapore

I've been singing the praises of American Idol contestant David Cook for a long time now and my first reaction watching him perform a different take on Michael Jackson's Billie Jean was "WOW". It totally blew me away. Man, he's a farking genius!

Of course, then I realised that it was actually a cover of a cover done by Chris Cornell, who used to be from Audioslave and Soundgarden.

Here's David's performance on American Idol:

And here's Chris Cornell's performance:

See any similarities? Ok, Ryan Seacrest did mention that David was doing Chris' version of Billie Jean but apparently all the three judges have no clue of the cover done by Chris so they went out praising David for his originality, being brave and for the great arrangement. Tsk. It's Chris Cornell's arrangement guys! Ok but I have to admit I pretty much like David's performance and I hope he wins American Idol because right now I can't stand the cute face of David Archuleta. But Chris Cornell is the REAL genius for his arrangement of the Billie Jean cover. Well, at least now more people will go and buy his CDs.

MTV has a story about David Cook's copying other covers, saying that he is a smart competitor. From MTV:

Michael Slezak, a senior writer for Entertainment Weekly known for his "Idol" coverage, said he thinks Cook is smart for picking the arrangements he has.

"I think it's a little silly to accuse him of stealing arrangements," Slezak explained. "You know, Chris Daughtry took a real hit when he did a version of [Johnny Cash's] 'Walk the Line' and didn't, at any point, credit Live's version, but in this case, Cook put it out there, clearly having Ryan state, 'He's doing Chris Cornell's version,' and if you listen to both versions, it's not like he did a complete carbon copy of Cornell's, anyway.

"I would understand why people would want to see some of these contestants — if they're going to get credit for being brave and innovative — completely change up a song on their own," he continued. "I think it's also hard to ask them to do that. They only have a week to come up with the arrangements, and then they've got to get the 'Idol' band onboard with it and record their version for the iTunes download, so it doesn't give them a lot of time to come up with a completely innovative arrangement of a song every week. Ultimately, I think Cook deserves credit for being smart and aware of new or different versions of songs — different than the ones people are familiar with. I don't know if he should get credit for being brave, but he should get credit for being smart and singing these songs well."

I agree. He is definitely smart enough to fool me initially. Now I can't wait to see what other surprises he has in store for us on his way to his American Idol glory.

Update: If you thought David Cook's performance on American Idol was brilliant, check out his studio recording of Billie Jean here. Ok after listening to this, I think I can safely say David's Billie Jean is way better than Chris Cornell's version or even Michael Jackson's! (Thanks Mr Big)

This is Bengie. He is a monster. He likes to dream up grand schemes and is always leaving things to the very last minute. Sounds just like me aye. Check out Bengie and his other handcrafted plush monster friends at The Monster Factory.

Is this the coolest projector or what?! The R2-D2 Digital Audio and Video Projector is able to project from a distance of over 16 feet with an 80-inch image. Comes with a built-in CD/DVD player, iPod docking station, memory card and USB slots, Millennium Falcon remote control and plays the most popular R2-D2 sound effects. Perfect for playing all your Star Wars movies at home.

In what could be the most bizarre marketing strategy ever, the folks at Dr Pepper will be giving a free soda to everyone in America - that's 301,139,947 lucky people - if Axl Rose releases the new Guns N' Roses album Chinese Democracy this year. From the press release:

Tired of a world in which Americans idolize wannabe singers and musicals about high schoolers pass as rock ‘n roll music, Dr Pepper is encouraging (ok, begging) Axl Rose to finally release his 17-year-in-the-making belabored masterpiece, Chinese Democracy, in 2008.

In an unprecedented show of solidarity with Axl, everyone in America, except estranged GNR guitarists Slash and Buckethead, will receive a free can of Dr Pepper if the album ships some time -- anytime! -- in 2008. Dr Pepper supports Axl, and fully understands that sometimes you have to make it through the jungle before you get it right.

"It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper’s special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love,” said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr Pepper. “So we completely understand and empathize with Axl's quest for perfection – for something more than the average album. We know once it's released, people will refer to it as "Dr Pepper for the ears" because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds - an instant classic.”

Axl Rose was surprised enough to hear about Dr Pepper's challenge that he decided to release a statement himself. From Guns N Roses:

We are surprised and very happy to have the support of Dr Pepper with our album "Chinese Democracy," as for us, this came totally out of the blue. If there is any involvement with this promotion by our record company or others, we are unaware of such at this time. And as some of Buckethead's performances are on our album, I'll share my Dr Pepper with him.

Great. Now release the farking album Axl. How long more are you making us wait? Argh!

Browsing through the Retro Arcade photoset sure brings back good old memories of me wasting my days away, skipping school and having lots of fun playing games such as Battlezone and Space Invaders in arcades. Visiting arcades nowadays are just not as fun as they used to be. Maybe because now we can play all the good games on our computers, Xbox and PS.

I've just created My Miny City. It has only one inhabitant so far - me! Every click on the link will increase my city's population. Only with more population can I then start sending different links to readers and friends to boost my city's industry, transport, security, environment and business. So come to my city. It's getting lonely there.

This road in Japan actually plays music! Groves were cut into the road which then create a sound when a car moves across. Judging from the video above, I think I would rather roll up the car's window and blast my own music.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

The girl who posted this ad on Craiglist Singapore is looking for a guy to act as her boyfriend. Raise your hand if you like to play the boyfriend. From Craiglist:

i am looking for a male who can act convincingly as my boyfriend so i can scare someone off. :) Timeframe is for about 1 mth, once a week (in total 3-4) matinee appearances.

Good chemistry (visual compatibility physically and mental compatibility in conversations) between us is essential; so that the act is convincing. I am doing this for the first time - yes why would i be doing this when i've never had a boyfriend, never dated, etc etc - :) "hell hath no fury than a woman scorned".

If you are keen to take on this role, please kindly email me. For interested guys, you should be single. :) Straight gay bi thai, doesn't matter. if we turn out good friends, it would be wonderful. i will treat you to a meal for each appearance. :)

Scott Games makes computer games so that he can raise money for charity. He is currently asking for donation to buy equipment for an entire playground in Afghanistan. He has made two games that you can download from his site and he is currently working on another.

As a working mum, this writer says it is hard for her to find time to get "earth-shattering, toe-curling multiple orgasms". Poor lady. From Onion:

No one tells you when you're young, but having kids just upends your whole life. One minute, you're more than willing to lie on the couch for two or more hours, rubbing massage oil over your breasts and inner thighs until your primed body is aching for that last gentle stroke that will send it over the edge. And then the next minute you have a few children and all of the sudden the only thing that gets you excited is not finding another cavity at the dentist's office. It's all about priorities. And, until the kids go off to good colleges and I save up enough vacation days to make it worthwhile, I guess getting down on all fours in front of the full-length mirror and slowly working my trusty purple vibrator in and out of my dripping love canal with increasing speed and intensity will just have to wait.

I've been playing with Mixwit for the last hour and finally created a mixtape for all of you to enjoy. There are a total of 8 tracks in it and I also threw in a remix of Never Gonna Give You Up specially for you Rick Astley fans. Don't lie. I know there are a lot of you out there. Give it a listen aye. Just click the Play button.

Update: You can also try Muxtape to make your mixtapes but I think Mixwit is better.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I've been noticing a lot of beautiful girls marrying guys who are not that good looking. Is this a trend or what? Now I know why. Psychologists say that happier marriages result from attractive women who wed uglier men. Wait a minute. I thought gorgeous women are only happier with uglier men with big fat wallets. No? From Daily Mail:

The Tennessee team tested 82 newly-wed couples for facial attractiveness and the quality of their marriage.

Their results, in the Journal of Family Psychology, suggested most men who married attractive women were happy to bask in the glory of their partner's beauty.

But Professor Jim McNulty reported: "Men who were more attractive than their partner demonstrated a tendency to offer less emotional and practical support to their wives."

He said "evolutionary perspectives" offered an explanation.

"Attractive men have available to them more short-term mating opportunities.

"This may make them less satisfied and less committed to the marital relationship."

For you lovebirds who need more than just a pair of matching clothes, there's this Lover's MP3 player. Each of you get one half of the heart which can store 1 GB of songs and the best thing is you can keep your half when you break up.

For some strange reasons, I think this business can actually do well here in Singapore. I might even be interested to set up something similar. From MethodIzaz:

MethodIzaz is a unique photography experience. Subjects are unaware of the exact moment they will be photographed and of the photographer's identity. Instead, the subject is photographed completely naturally, living life as normal...

Using information provided earlier about their weekly routine, the photographer will arrive on the scene, and unseen, take shots of the subject. The subject will be photographed walking through the streets, going about their daily business. Without posing and artifice, the camera captures only the natural beauty of the person.

Video of clips taken from various Japanese TV dramas and movies showing very mild lesbian scenes. The first clip in the video comes from the drama Yubi starring former Morning Musume member Goto Maki (she's hot!) as a stage actress who strives for fame at all costs. She ends up in a lesbian love triangle with the top member of her theatrical troupe to fulfill her ambitions.

Thanks to the new South Park website, I don't have to download the torrent file from Mr Twig's anymore to watch the latest episode of South Park. Full episode streaming now! You peeps have to watch this week's episode where Britney "I piss on a ladybug" Spears makes an appearance.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Dude builds a 1:20 scale model of the German warship Admiral Graf Spee. This is no ordinary model. It has a built in music system to entertain its two-man crew. That's right! You can actually sit inside it with a friend while it sails at a top speed of 24 km per hour thanks to its 15 hp outboard engine. I want one!

Yesterday, I posted a link to famous paintings found on various episodes of The Simpsons. I've got more Simpsons goodies for you today. Here are some famous landmarks that have been Simpsonized. You'll see some familiar places like the Great Wall of China, the Eiffel Tower and even the Australian Embassy!

I wondered if the makers of this Finding Nemo wine holder actually got any permission from Walt Disney. I doubt Disney would have approved turning its cute and lovable clown fish cartoon character into an alcoholic, wine drinking fish.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

This is so brilliant. Just click your Windows start button and click run, type in "telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl" (minus the inverted commas) into the command prompt, sit back and enjoy Star Wars Episode IV in ASCII!

I didn't know that you can spot many famous paintings on various episodes of The Simpsons. Guess I have to watch closer next time. Here is Homer and Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Dark Felt Hat. The page is in French but you can get a English translation here.

Oh no! The AVA has instructed the importers and retailers of one of my favourite snacks, Nong Shim shrimp crackers, to recall all the products which may have been affected from the market immediately. Why? You won't believe this but a suspected rat's head was found in a bag of the shrimp crackers in Korea. Yup, deep fried some more. From Chosun:

Foodmaker Nongshim will issue a public apology after an object presumed to be a mouse head was found in a packet of the popular shrimp-flavored snack Sae-u-ggang. The company will halt production of the snacks and collect those in the market to destroy them.

According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration, a 24-year-old woman in Cheongwon, North Chungcheong Province, purchased a pack of Sae-u-ggang and found a 1-1.5 cm-object shaped like the head of a mouse. She complained to the foodmaker and demanded compensation. The demand was rejected.

Anyway this is not the first time that Nong Shim is a subject of complaints from consumers. I found out that in Korea, Nong Shim has been caught most often for unsanitary goods. From Korea Times:

The Consumers Union of Korea received 1,980 reports and complaints about the unsafe condition of processed food between August 2007 and January this year. Among them, 1,071, or 54 percent, were foods containing foreign substances, the group said.

Of the cases, 58 were products manufactured by Nongshim, the nation's largest snack maker, the largest among the nation's total distributors and food or beverage makers.

The 58 cases were: 38 involving bugs; eight with unidentified materials; two each with mold, iron fragments, plastic shards and plastic bag pieces; and one each with hair, flies, bone, and staples.

Dude found a box filled with love letters from his dad to his mom. The letters start in early March, 1978 during a vacation at a Walt Disney Resort and end when they got married in early April, 1978. He scanned them here.

The Comfish Aquarium is a one of a kind mini aquarium that is powered by the PC! Just plug the USB cable to your computer to power the aquarium's heater for climate control, LED lighting and water oxygenation. It also acts as a room humidifier.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Marc Johns draws and scribbles thoughts on 3x3 Post-it notes. Also check out his website where you can find his more serious drawings. He writes on his website: "I like to create absurd situations, by combining things together that don’t belong, or imagine what inanimate objects would say if they could speak."

I stumbled upon this collection of Japanese short films with English subtitles on mt37222's Channel on YouTube yesterday. The few that I have watched are very bizarre such as this short film (above) called Takeshi which is about a lady who first met a young boy in her dream when she was 6. Then one day she realises that she was in his dream. I'm confused!

I'm beginning to hate ESPN. Really. Last year, they lost to StarHub in the bid for the exclusive rights to broadcast the English Premier League in Singapore and because of that we had no choice but to watch some crappy Football Channel host and guests in the pre and post match shows. Now ESPN has lost out to SingTel for the rights to broadcast the UEFA Champions League games for the 2009 season and onwards. From Channel NewsAsia:

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) has won exclusive rights to broadcast UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup 2009-2012 on its mobile, internet and mio TV platforms.

SingTel also plans to stream UEFA Champions League games both ‘live’ and on-demand on mio TV, and the Internet through the IDEAS portal www.ideas.singtel.com. It will also offer clips on its mobile service.

The first thing I did when I heard the news yesterday was to text my friend who works for ESPN to ask him what's going on. He said SingTel outbid them just like StarHub did for the Premier League. Not again, was my reaction.

StarHub which has been showing UEFA Cup matches did not bid for the combined Champions League and UEFA Cup package. Damn you too StarHub! Why didn't you bid? Now we have to fork out unnecessary money to get SingTel's mio TV's setup box, ADSL modem and subscribe to their sports channel if we want to watch the Champions League in the future. Fark!

I don't know how this could be good for football fans in Singapore. Who the hell would subscribe to mio TV just to catch Champions League? Have you seen the programming on mioTV? They are like crap! And from what I understand, mio TV is only available for residential homes, therefore you won't be able to catch the Champions League games in bars and pubs.

After looking at these scans of an art book based on the visually stunning anime film Tekkonkinkreet, I've decided that I must watch it on Blu-ray! The background art of Tekkon Kinkreet totally blew me away and I'm sure the film will do too. Watch the trailer here.

I'm so glad I came across the Casey Weldon's website. Casey is an accomplished illustrator and on his website you can view some of his beautiful paintings such as this one of a sad looking boy sitting on his AT-AT and holding a rod that has a line tied to a miniature Luke Skywalker. The painting called AT AT The Playground is for sale at US$20.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Covers of science fiction fanzines created in the late 70's and early 80's by fans of Star Wars, Star Trek and other science fiction hits. You've got to hand it to these hardcore fans for their artistic brilliance in creating these vintage paper beauties.

Watch the full press conference (32 minutes long in wmv) by X-Files director Chris Carter, writer Frank Spotnitz and actor David "Fox Mulder" Duchovny after they wrapped up the filming of the second X-Files movie in Vancouver.

Bill Mudron can definitely draw. Bill is a 30-year old freelance cartoonist who has created artwork for Marvel Comics, Buena Vista Games, Electronic Gaming Monthly, etc. I had a look at his portfolio and wow, I'm impressed!

In Star Wars, the Astro Droids are automated mechanics that do various duties from flight navigation to janitorial work. Now you can have both R2-D2 and R4-P17 to help you hold your thrash at home. These Astro Droid thrash cans operate via a foot pedal that lifts the head to reveal a removable waste receptacle. Compatible with any bathroom-sized trash bags. I want both of them in my house!

Puppetoys' Prehistoric Puppets are life-like dinosaur puppets created by Michael Maddi, a veteran Hollywood effects artist. He uses his film effects techniques and materials to create these extremely accurate and highly detailed puppets of well known dinosaurs. Just put your hand in one of these and you can bring the dinosaurs back to life! Check out T-Rex in action here.

I've just finished watching what must be the greatest Premier League game ever. Check out this scoreline: Spurs 4 - 4 Chelsea! Not as sweet as the League Cup Final when we beat Chelsea 2-1 but this was a cracker of a game with lots of great drama and beautiful goals.Spurs, 3-1 down, came back to end the game 4-4. The Chelsea team and fans were stunned. We could have even won the match in the dying seconds if Cudicini did not spectacularly save Berbatov's goal bound shot.

If you guys missed it live, go catch the highlights or the repeat. I guarantee you that it's one hell of a match. More of such games involving Spurs and I would most likely get a heart attack. Now I should try to get some sleep.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

I spotted this on Vicki's Flickr. Check out the guy's name: Kiasu Ong! Now, if there's a contest for the most popular Singaporean name, I think this guy will win hands down.

Vicki told me that she spotted the ad on Business Times. It covers half a page and is full of faces of property agents. Yup, Kiasu Ong sells houses and according to this comment I found on a Tomorrow.sg post, it says he works for Dennis Wee Properties and he is one of their top agents. No wonder. With a name like that, how can he not be a top seller aye.

Update: Thanks to reader Chris Ong (no relations to Kiasu Ong, I think) who wrote to me saying that Kiasu Ong is no longer with Dennis Wee Properties. He is now a Division Head with Anchor Properties. Ah, there he is.

You have 2 more days until the LG KS20 charity auction on eBay ends. LG will be donating all sale proceeds from this auction series to Sunlove Home, a Singapore charity for the intellectually disabled.

Music and Sons T-shirts are earphones-equipped T-shirts that allow you to easily listen to your MP3 player while on the move, without those annoying flying cables. A thread wire has been integrated to each T-shirt. The hidden wire is connected to a back neck collar plug (for you to insert the special short earphones) and a pocket down the side which houses your MP3 player.

As Seen On

I.Z. Reloaded covers news, pop culture, blogs, websites, gadgets, the fascinating and the weird from a Singapore perspective. The blog is a runner up in both the 2006 Weblog Awards (Best Asia Blog) and the 2004 Asia Blog Awards (Best Singapore Blog) and it is also the first Singapore blog to be syndicated by Newstex. I.Z. is the Executive Producer and Creative Director at branded content studio R3LOAD Network. He is the creator of hit show Singapore Haunted. Previously a Producer at Klik.TV and has served as the Brand Ambassador for Comboutique Asia, Blog Ambassador for Advertlets and Brand Ambassador for San Street. Send him stories, invites, sponsorships at izreloaded[at]gmail[dot]com.